"Hindus say we are God, reality an illusion", could you please explain?

Question

In an earlier question, one answer had the following:

"Hindus say we are God, reality an illusion"

I was not aware of this and would like to understand it. Could someone be kind enough to give some detailed explanations?, i.e. that (1) we are God, (2) reality is an illusion?

Thank you very much.

Thanks a lot. Your answers helped understand those two ideas. You saved me hours if not weeks of what would have been daunting library work.

Dear ssrjv: i am not sure if you are referring to me about the "misquote". But let me clarify anyway: I had posted an earlier question: Do you think it is possible for different religions to coexist peacefully? One answer, that of James, contained my present question. So I did not misquote. Thank you very much, and I apologize for any misunderstanding.

Answer 1

The entirety of the universe exists as a part of the God idea.

We and everything else exist as a part of God. In that respect we are God just as the leaf is the tree.

As for the illusion part. This is more easily understandable if one considers the actual scale of the components of an atom. If one takes into account the fact that the neutrons, protons and electrons of an atom actually have huge spaces between them it becomes clear that the atoms that make up seemingly solid objects are made up of 99+ percent empty space.

This alone does not seem too important till you add the idea that the atoms that make up seemingly solid objects are more of a loose conglomeration that share a similar attraction but never really touch each other.

At first glance this does not really seem relevant, but closer analysis reveals that this adds a tremendous amount of empty space to solid objects that are already made up of atoms that are 99 percent space. When so-called solid objects are seen in this light it becomes apparent that they can in no way be the seemingly solid objects they appear to be.

We ourselves are not exceptions to this phenomenon.

These seemingly solid objects are more like ghostly images that we interpret as solid objects based on our perceptual conclusions.

From this we must conclude that Perception is some sort of a trick that helps us to take these ghostly images and turn them into a world we can associate and interact with. This clever device seems to be a creation of our intellect that enables us to interact with each other in what appears to be a three dimensional reality.

I hope that helps to answered your question.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 2

I am not Hindu but I do try to pay some attention to other religions and there beliefs.
To put it simply and in relative terms. We are the Children of God and as such have the potential to become as God is. As such, yes, we are God in the sense that we are His children.

Reality, as we understand it, can be called mortality. Anything that has a beginning must have an end. Our mortality, our physical bodies, the earth, the sky, the sun, the moon, the seas, time itself and all that are in them must have an end and thus in a way it is illusory or transitory or in other words temporary(temporal).
God is real, we are real, we are coexistent and co-eternal with God and our identity(spirit) will always exist.
Our bodies will be returned to us through the mercies and power of Jesus Christ. All, whether good or evil, will have a perfect, immortal body.

I seek to understand other religions in the context of: what do they have that is truth and what do they have that is consistent with what other faiths or stories passed from one generation of humanity to another.
There are little "threads" of truth that run through all cultures, religions, societies; that find agreement. Unfortunately there is much falsehood mingled with these truths and many people that "strain at a gnat while trying to swallow a camel" when it comes to religion, doctrine, dogma, stories and even individual wording and naming of characters, events and settings.
Where do these truths come from?
They come from the source of all truth - God. I believe all the people of the Earth at one point or another in history were given truth from God through his Prophets. I believe the ancient Indians, Chinese, Native Americans, Australian Aborigines, Arabs, Africans, Celts, etc... had the truth from God, through a Prophet of their own and over time these people corrupted the truth and it was lost except in little bits and pieces scattered throughout their stories, beliefs and traditions that they have passed down.

Answer 3

I am not Hindu, but I agree with these beliefs. We are not who we may think we are. The part of us who is here, that we believe is our identity, is only a small part of our consciousness that is held apart from the Source (God if you will) and focused in the physical realm. The larger part of who we are is focused in the nonphysical plane. This larger part of us is a direct extention of the energy of the Source, or God if you prefer. So in that way, you can say that because we are directly connected to God in the nonphysical we are in fact God. My personal understanding of this is very slightly different. In the way that you could say that your little toe is part of your body, we are a part of God. Reality is an illusion, because the part of us that is experiencing physical existence is not aware of the part that is nonphysical. And everything that we see and touch and hear is there because we expect it to be there. We have agreed to the rules as it were. Now all that said, when you know how, you are able to break down those walls of disconnection and see more clearly both sides of it.

Answer 4

1) We are God. Hindus believe in an all-encompassing Reality called Brahman, of which humans are small parts. They believe that notions of individuality are illusory, and that the individual soul (jiva) is the same as the universal soul (which is the same as God), except it appears different because of ignorance (avidya).

2) Reality is an illusion. There is only the Whole, which is Brahman. The phenomenal reality of physical objects does not actually exist, it is Brahman in disguise, as viewed through ignorance of the true state of things. In this sense, Hinduism is pantheistic.

Of course, there vare substantial disagreements as to the fine points of this within Hinduism, but that is the general gist.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

idk about we are God.
But i know that hindus believe in a number of gods and in the caste system. You are born into a caste and you have to do your life's work in that caste. If you don't do your lifes work, after you die you are born agian in to another caste of lower value. Ex. if you are a kid and torture animals then you will be reincarnated as an animal. (hindus don't eat meat esp. cow).. Once you have completed the final caste you become a deity (we are god possibly). I think that Reality is an illusion is a misinterpertation of the religion. Hinduism is prely ethnic and there is no book like the bible or the qu'ran to reference to. hope i helped xD.

Answer 6

No Hindu would have said, the way you have written--If any Hindu said it or you "Mis-quote" it--it is "IGNORANCE"--Rk Vedham-10,000 years old -not 1400 years old- ("the OLDEST Repository of Human knowledge"-quoted from:-German Max Muller/ British sir Monier Williams - not from any Hindu!!) says "God is in me="Aham Brahmam Asmi"---God is in you ="Tat Twam Asi"---God is in every body ="Sarvam Kalvidham Brahmam"--GOD is ONE and Only ONE,which is "REALITY"= "Eka Eva Brahmam Satyam(Reality)"---There is NO second God="Param Naasthi"---the perception that the the "Soul" (Aatman) in individuals are seperate entities is Maaya (Illusion) due to "limited" human comprehension

Answer 7

I'm a little confused too. That sounded more like a Buddhist belief, the belief that reality is pain and suffering. By distancing themselves from it, they believe that they can be absorbed into (pardon my sarcasm) a cosmological, divine soup. Sounds depressing and nihilistic.

Hindu philosophy hinges on the belief that there are millions of states of being people can obtain through reincarnation. Technically, I suppose a person could become God (if this belief system was true) if they were perfect enough and got reincarnated enough.

Answer 8

to say god is an imaginary being not attatched to animals, nature or creation is an illusion

I am not hindu but I like the idea of respecting nature, others and self

Answer 9

Hindus worship hamburger meat. How do you expect them to explain?

Answer 10

lol
I Imagine, therefore, I AM???